Republican leader says party is no longer 'relevant'

Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 18:33 [IST]

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Washington, Nov.18 : A Virginian Republic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives has said that his party is no longer "relevant" to voters and must stop simply espousing principles. Instead, it must craft real solutions to health care and the economy.

"Where we have really fallen down is, we have lacked the ability to be relevant to people's lives. Let's set aside the last eight years, and our falling down in living up to expectations of what we said we were going to do," Eric Cantor told The Washington Times.

As chief deputy whip, Cantor, 45, was the logical choice to move up when Republicans' current whip, Rep. Roy Blunt, stepped aside - something Mr. Blunt announced days after Republicans lost at least 20 seats in the House.

A week before Wednesday's leadership elections, Cantor offered a bleak assessment of his party and where it's fallen: technology, preparedness for political realities, such as the next round of redistricting, and pursuing its ideals.

Most of all, he said, Republicans have been content to offer principles, rather than concrete solutions. Voters, he said, have punished them for it.

Cantor said Republicans should "be very wise about the battles we fight," but that they should fight every time there's a principle involved.

Formerly a steady defender of President Bush, Cantor doesn't attack the president directly, but he repeatedly refers to "eight years," using the term as if it were a symbol of dark times for Republican principles.